American Notes Security

It was not exactly a terrorist act, but in a week filled with political violence, it raised fresh concerns about the security of U.S. officials. Edward Doster, 20, a former Maryland racetrack stable boy, showed his dependent's pass at State Department headquarters and was allowed to enter without putting his gym bag through metal detectors. Upon reaching the seventh-floor "corridor of power," he went into a men's room and assembled a rifle from the bag's contents. Then he confronted his mother Carole, 44, a secretary in the office of State Department Counselor Edward Derwinski. After an exchange of words, Doster shot and killed her, then himself. Last month, he had been charged by Alexandria, Va., police with beating her repeatedly.

Just 100 yds. away, Secretary of State George Shultz was in his office, talking by phone to Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres about the hostage crisis. After the killings, security was tightened, including some searches of attache cases. Still, unsettled officials admitted that lapses can always occur. Said one: "We have to function. Are we going to search 10,000 people a day? I don't think you can ensure that a tragic incident like this will never happen."